People are talking....

Friday, February 29, 2008

Several people have written to me asking me to comment on the Oscar ceremony this year. My opinion is that there is nothing wrong with a dull Oscar telecast that a few wonderful mainstream movies won't solve. In a couple of decades, people are going to look at the movies that have been added to the Best Picture list in the last few years and break into that great musical summary of Aristotle's Categories from Sesame Street: "One of these things, is not like the others, one of these things just doesn't belong."

The Oscar Best Picture list for generations has been a fairly reliable bell-weather of movies that were excellent in craft and universal in theme, and so caught the attention of the mass, global audience, giving them delight and something to go back to time and time again. A Best Picture film has generally meant something that holds up over time and can be watched and savored over and over again. I've seen Casablanca probably twenty times, for example, and I will never get to the point when I will say, "I'm done with it.". It's just too good. I've seen The Sound of Music until I know every line. And then, A Man for All Seasons and Amadeus, Ben Hur, On The Waterfront, Lawrence of Arabia, Gone With the Wind, My Fair Lady - just off the top of my head. People will be watching these movies forever. And even the Best Pictures that aren't seen a lot these days, like Rebecca, The Best Years of Our Lives, Marty and Gentlemen's Agreement still hold up for the most part.

The question is, who will be watching Crash over and over and over in years to come? Who is even watching it now? [Dry voice] Memorizing every word is much easier in Crash's case as the F-word makes up probably a quarter of the script.

Who today is delighting with warm satisfaction over A Beautiful Mind? Will families ever gather around the TV after dinner to catch a rerun of The Departed or now, No Country for Old Men? Does anybody even remember the name of the main character in Million Dollar Baby?

No, the Academy Awards have almost completed their journey to being as irrelevant to everyday moviegoers as Cannes and the Berlin Film Festival. Even when there are populist movies again, I wonder if in squandering the Oscar brand, by giving the award to tedious, pretentious, or rooted in political zeitgeist movies, people will be able to care about the Oscars again some day.

Anyway, I really don't have much more to add to my impressions of the ceremony than Jan's adept analysis here.

Thursday, February 28, 2008

I was recently at a small gathering with two of the people on the planet who make me feel very good about the state of the Church, and the future of the human race. As long as we have people on the team like Dana Gioia and Christoph Cardinal Schonborn, I think we will be okay.

Dana Gioia is the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, a Catholic, a poet, and one of the most impressive men I have ever met. I remember the first time I met him in his office in Washington, his staff had clearly given him a copy of my bio and he saw that I had written a script about Emily Dickinson. So when he shook my hand he quoted from memory one of Emily's poems. Way to win me over real fast. A year or so later, Dana gave the closing address to our Washington, DC Act One program. As part of his noteless talk, he recited from memory about 30 lines of the "All the World's a Stage" speech from Shakespeare's, As You Like It. I remember thinking at the time, "Just sign me up and tell me what to do." When the Chairman gave his blessing to Act One, and then we got an NEA grant, I knew we were on the right track.

I'd never met Cardinal Schonborn, but had heard that he is "papabili." That's Catholic for, he's one of those men in the Church who kind of reeks "Could be Pope." After having heard him speak for thirty minutes or so, I tend to agree. A very impressive man. Definitely smart. But also had the aura of Christ about him.

The event was put on by The Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project, basically to announce the upcoming translation of that great philosophers' Aesthetics into English. As someone who is always trying to put together a life-framework that brings together the arts and faith, I can't wait for this book to be available in English. Von Hildebrand was the dominant philosophical influence of my undergraduate life. And his Transformation in Christ was the dominant challenge in shaping my spiritual life and subsequent choices. If you haven't heard of von Hildebrand, you're missing a big piece of the 'coping with modernity as a disciple puzzle."

Called a philosophical genius by Edmund Husserl, (no small potatoes himself), von Hildebrand was also designated "enemy number one" by the Ambasador of Hitler's Third Reich in Austria. When our present Pope was Cardinal Ratzinger he noted on one occasion, "I am personally convinced that, when, at some time in the future, the intellectual history of the Catholic Church in the 20th century is written, the name of Dietrich von Hildebrand will be most prominent among the figures of our time."

The work of translating von Hildebrand's thoughts on beauty and art into English is being funded largely through the generosity of Howard and Roberta Ahmanson. I was very impressed to see all the non-Catholic Christians who came to be part of the lunch, to celebrate this the paradigm Catholic philosopher. We have come a long way since the Reformation, I am thinking, and we will go very much farther in the next decade. You can quote me.

Here's a blurb from von Hildebrand's Aesthetics that touches directly on a theme that has been a principal part of my schtick these last ten years. It really meant a lot to find myself in synch here with this man's thought.

"...let me affirm unambiguously that beauty does in fact have an ennobling effect. Contact with an environment permeated by beauty not only offers a real protection against every kind of impurity and baseness, brutality, and untruthfulness; it also has the positive effect of elevating us in an ethical sense. It does not draw us into a self-centered pleasure where we only wish to indulge ourselves. On the contrary, it opens our hearts, inviting us to transcendence and leading us before the face of God...(Beauty) frees us from captivity in our egoistic interests and undoes the fetters of our hearts, releasing us (even if only for a short time) from the wild passions that constrain them."

I think this volume will go a long way to realizing that "renewal of the fruitful dialog that used to exist between the Church and the arts," that was called for by John Paul II in his Letter to Artists.

I jotted down a few quotes from the remarks of Dana Gioia and the Cardinal at the luncheon. Here they are:

"Dante and Mozart have brought more souls to God than any preacher." Dana Gioia

"(The problem in culture today) is that we have de-spiritualized art, and dehumanized religion." Dana Gioia

"Catholic musicians at Mass do not perform. They participate." Cardinal Schonborn

"We are living in a world in which ugliness has become a general invasion. Loss of proportion. Loss of harmony. Loss of tradition. Modern art is itself the deliberate deconstruction of secular traditions." Cardinal Schonborn

There was lots more good stuff said, but those were some of the notes I jotted down because they served me where I am at right now. I must say, I am very glad to see the Church starting to wake up over this art and culture thing. God willing, the Church will one day be patron of the Arts again.

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

For two hours, The Other Boleyn Girl is about nothing but sex. And I think I am going to recommend it. I found it to be a horrifying (in a good way) morality tale. (Karen - your kind of cinematic romp?) Because of it's subject matter, it's for grownups, although with a PG-13 rating, it doesn't have nudity or graphic sex.

Based on the novel by Philippa Gregory, the movie tells a mostly unknown story of the family of Henry the VIII's infamous second queen, Anne Boleyn, and how her father's ambition, and her mother's paralysis, ends up leading the whole family into every kind of tragedy.

Contrary to the Cate Blanchett Elizabethan movies that demonize the Catholic Church, The Other Boleyn Girl is a scathing indictment of the Tudor court, painting Henry in leotard-wearing Bill Clintonesque - narcissistic, deceitful, and willing to destroy his kingdom to satisfy his sexual appetites. His Queen, Catherine of Aragon, on the other hand, comes across as completely noble and really kind of wonderful - a devout woman trapped in a power-mad, licentious hell. On another level, the movie really, really made me glad that as a female, I was born in the mid-20th Century and not the mid-16th Century. Now, THAT was a damn tough time to be a woman.

I don't know how much of the story here is truly factual, but it is compelling and kept my attention for the full two hours. The movie absolutely knows what it is about - basically a slow spiral into hell and death as the Boleyn family sinks deeper and deeper into insane choices to preserve their status and fortunes. At moments, the movie becomes so horrible that the audience we screened it with kept bursting into laughs that were really groans. People had to laugh because the characters' choices had become so painfully, horribly absurd.

The cinematogroaphy was a bit annoying. Again, my kingdom for some wide shots! Somebody put up a billboard on Sunset somewhere - "To Directors: Just Because You Can Doesn't Mean You Must." I'm really tired of the unmotivated tight closeup. It seems to me a disrespectful attempt by the director to control the audience's eye just a bit too much.

The performances here were mostly good. Scarlet Johansson completely steals the movie from Natalie Portman. Portman was badly miscast here as Anne Boleyn. She doesn't have the sexual seductress thing going on, but comes off as more an all-American girl next door. I never bought that Henry would be so besotted with her. Eric Bana as Henry does a very good job, as does Kristin Scott Thomas as the mother of the three ill-fated Boleyn children.

There's no real lyrical imagery or cool cinema grammar, but the movie is basically a well told story that leaves the audience believing profoundly that it is much better to be obscure and middle-class than rich, powerful, and without all honor.

So, I had one of those "Hollywood" days today and it was kind of a thrill, so I am going to name-drop all over the blog here. I was at a luncheon and ended up sitting between the immortal, Jon Voight - who passed me the sugar for my coffee - and the lovely and gracious, Angie Harmon (I-forget-her-last-name-but-her- husband -is-some-kind-of-athlete-and-together-they-could-win-most-beautiful- couple-on -the-planet). And then, at the end, Gary Sinise kissed me. You know, on the cheek. But still.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Here is an announcement for an event coming up from the Magis Institute, of which I am a Board member. Our mission is "Healing the Culture Through Spirituality," and we will be holding a lot of retreats and conferences and one-off events, particularly to deepen Catholic artists in the entertainment industry. Eric Hansen, the speaker for this event, knows more about sacred art than any body I have ever come across. I always learn from him.

Dr. Eric Hansen will use beautiful slides from his extensive collection to demonstrate the aesthetic and spiritual keynotes of the Catholic baroque movement. Bring a notebook! Bring the friend you will wish had seen it with you the day after!

Space is limited (we will be in a smaller room), we ask that you RSVP to Todd Inman at (949) 474 -7368, ext. 130. Or email inman@magis.us before February 10, 2008. You may also register on line here.

Please provide your name, email address, and a phone number, along with the number (and names) in your party.

Dr. Hansen 2008 Lecture Series Schedule

February 11, 2008The Four Loves: C.S. Lewis and the Mystery of Love

March 11, 2008The Catholic Baroque: The Divine Encountering the HumanMay 13, 2008In Search of St. PaulJuly 8, 2008The Three Theresas: Avila, Lisieux, and CalcuttaSeptember 9, 2008Icons: East Meets WestNovember 11, 2008Early Christian Faith Through the Window of the Catacombs

Monday, February 25, 2008

My friend, Tom Allen, sent me this announcement of his award-winning Chapions of Faith projects. The baseball one was really well done, and I am looking to the football edition. (And then how about a chess edition, Tom, for people who like, you know, the King of sports?)

Happy to add to the buzz for Tom's work....

_______________________________________

CATHOLIC EXCHANGE RELEASES NEWCHAMPIONS OF FAITHTM FILM ON DVD – FOOTBALL EDITION TO FOLLOW

"Champions of Faith: The Bases of Life” Sets New Standard as Catholic Faith Formation Tool

One of the most acclaimed Catholic films in recent memory now has a sequel. On April 1, 2008, Champions of Faith: The Bases of Life will follow the multiple award-winning Champions of Faith: Baseball Edition onto DVD, providing an emotional and faith-filled look inside the personal lives of some of America’s most beloved baseball heroes. The second film in Catholic Exchange’s Champions of FaithTM, The Bases of Life, stars Mike Piazza, Darrell Miller, Tom Glavine, Jeff Suppan and others, and uncovers in a striking way the true meaning of faith and God's message of love and forgiveness to mankind. series

This stunning presentation of major sports stars’ fidelity to prayer and the sacraments of the Church is like no other faith formation tool ever produced – including the first Champions of FaithTM film. “The Bases of Life is unique,” explained Tom Allen, the film’s producer/director. “We go inside the home and family lives of Mike Piazza and Darrell Miller. We go inside St. Andrew’s and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City – even into the crypt where Archbishop Sheen and Cardinal Cooke are buried! We were given amazing access for this project and the result is a uniquely powerful film about how to live a truly Catholic life.”

In an age in which many sports heroes have fallen into disgrace, Champions of Faith: The Bases of Life brings the “other side” of sports to life by showcasing star players who are devoted to faith and family, Word and Sacrament. Aimed primarily at men and boys who hold these sports heroes in high esteem, the film takes a unique approach to highlighting the power and meaning of prayer, Reconciliation and the Eucharist, displaying the power of God in a way that people can understand and enjoy.

“As a faith-formation tool, there’s nothing like The Bases of Life,” explained Lisa Wheeler of The Maximus Group, the exclusive promoter of both Champions of FaithTM films. “This film answers the prayers of women who are eager to strengthen their husbands and sons in the faith. The effect it has on people is profound.”

NOW IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE ONE OF THE FIRST TO GET THIS POWERFUL NEW FILM, WHICH IS ALREADY BEING HAILED AS ANOTHER FAITH CLASSIC. PRE-ORDER YOUR COPY TODAY IN TIME FOR THE 2008 MLB SEASON. TO PLACE AN ORDER BY PHONE, CALL 1-877-263-1263.

For those who loved Catholic Exchange’s first film, Champions of Faith: Baseball Edition, "The Bases of Life" is a perfect companion to help you go deeper in faith with your favorite Major League baseball stars. The solidly Catholic and uniquely entertaining message can also be shared with friends and neighbors. To preview The Bases of Life, click here.

Next up for Catholic Exchange is Champions of Faith: Football Edition, which will explore the Catholic faith on the Gridiron both at the NFL and major college level. With commitments from world class players, coaches and financiers largely in place, Catholic Exchange's Champions of Faith: Football promises to further establish the Champions of FaithTM brand as by far-and-away the standard in Catholic filmed entertainment.

About Catholic Exchange

Catholic Exchange (CE) is a non-profit media organization that seeks to bring the Good News of Jesus Christ as proclaimed by the Catholic Church to the world through the modern tools of mass communication. Inspired by Pope John Paul II's call for a "New Evangelization" and in faithfulness to Pope Benedict XVI, CE strives to "put out into the deep" a first-rate response to the need for greater catechesis and revival of the lay faithful. Since its founding in 2001 by an independent group of laypeople, Catholic Exchange has provided an impressive menu of programs and services to the Church faithful, including production of the groundbreaking and award-winning Champions of Faith: Baseball, distribution financing for Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ, authorship of the million-selling A Guide to the Passion and the bestselling A Guide to Narnia and DaVinci Deception, and the launch of Relevant Radio’s Morning Air with Jeff Cavins. For more information please visit www.catholicexchange.com.

About The Maximus Group

The Atlanta-based Maximus Group, which spearheaded the Catholic grassroots marketing campaigns for Catholic Exchange’s Champions of Faith: Baseball, Mel Gibson’s The Passion of the Christ and Disney/Walden Media’s The Chronicles of Narnia, was instrumental in turning the historic election and installment of Pope Benedict XVI into a spectacular media event that honored and promoted the Catholic Church in an unprecedented way. It is the leading company in Catholic PR and marketing. For more information please visit www.maximusmg.com.

More on the Champions of FaithTM Series

Champions of FaithTM has already received THREE MAJOR AWARDS since its release in the Spring: the 2007 CIMA Award (Catholic in Media Associates) for “Best Documentary,” and 2007 Unity Awards (Catholic Music & Video Association) for “Best Producer” and “Best Movie Presentation for Catholic Evangelization.”

And not to mention the endorsements:

Cardinal Justin Rigali of Philadelphia: “This entertaining and moving film breaks new ground in giving cultural icons an opportunity to be part of a high quality film and at the same time to speak lovingly of Jesus Christ and how their spiritual lives have enriched their professional careers. This is a prime example of what the Church needs to be doing to reach people where they are. It is a beautiful expression of evangelization through media.”

Cardinal Edward Egan of New York: “This film is a powerful instrument of evangelization, and it is my hope that it will reach many people with its inspiring message.”

Archbishop Charles Chaput of Denver: “ 'Champions of Faith' is entertaining, inspiring and a wonderful means of evangelizing. It presents a powerful counterpoint to the inappropriate actions, behaviors, and values often conveyed by professional athletes today. By hearing these stories, told in great action shots and quiet moments of reflection, positive Catholic role models are put before us.”

Bishop Thomas Olmsted of Phoenix: “I thought 'Champions of Faith' was terrific. The witness to Christ of these baseball stars and their unapologetic love of the Catholic Church was truly inspiring. I hope many of our youth will get to see this wonderful film.”

William A. Donohue, Ph.D., President of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights : “There has never been anything quite like 'Champions of Faith'. It is as inspiring as it is professionally crafted. Guaranteed to touch all Catholics."

Jesse Romero, Catholic Lay Evangelist, Former USA Middleweight Kickboxing Champion “This movie is going to be a useful evangelization tool for many years to come especially for young people. The movie was saturated with the splendor.”

Fr. Scott Reilly, Territorial Director for the Legionaries of Christ " 'Champions of Faith' is an exciting and inspiring production. These are real men talking about real faith – a wonderful example for all of us. This is a great way to spread the word of God and show the impact of Christ in our world."

Father Deo Rosales, priest of Opus Dei and a chaplain at Schuyler Hall Residence in New York : " 'Champions of Faith' is a valuable tool for communicating the Catholic faith in an engaging way, through moving personal accounts of players and managers in Major League Baseball. A real home run! "

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

We go to the San Diego Zoo. And we stroll in the soft sunlight, and inhale the lush flora...and be really, really glad we get to live here especially at this time of year. (To all my Northeast friends: I know it's obnoxious, but despite all your grumblings about "the left Coast" and "liberal bastion," and "how L.A. has way more than a fair share of New Age wackos," Southern California really is paradise! It's indisputable.)

We, the people of Origin Entertainment, decided to spend a weekend together actually enjoying each other, instead of fretting over financing deals and script notes. Hosted by our wise and wonderful CEO, Dick Lyles and his lovely wife, Martha, it was a great time.

There is no culturally or ecclesially significant reason for me to post the following pictures. But I send them out to those of you who are shivering in February horrors, as a sign of hope to you, that somewhere it is summer! (Heh, heh. Wicked chortle of New England expat glee.)

Monkeys.

Really big monkey.

Elephant. At dinner.

An obviously bored lion sleeping in a cave really, really far away from the madding throng of gawking humans. My sense was the zoo was being very careful about their big cats not jumping 23 feet and eating any of us. I got a closer shot of the Pope the last time I was in Rome.

Absolutely no idea. But they have a lot of them at the San Diego Zoo. I'm thinking all the other zoos don't want 'em.

Martha and Dick Lyles holding some of the next generation of the Origin Entertainment family.

Origin's Founder and Chairman, James Volk and his lovely family looking very beautifully Southern Californian. Everyone here looks like this. (...ahem....)

The program I helped found to prepare Christians for Hollywood careers is now accepting applications for our summer intensives. We would be very grateful if you could copy the following message and let your blog or Internet mailing list readers know. (Our list of foundational sponsors includes the National Endowment for the Arts, the DeVos Foundation, the US Bishops Catholic Communications Campaign and the Anschutz Foundation.) A cut and paste-able message is below.

_____________________________________________________

Act One Summer Programs - Applications Now Being Accepted!

Summer Screenwriting Program

The Act One Screenwriting Program trains talented Christians for careers as mainstreamfilm and television writers. The program takes place in the heart of the Hollywood entertainment industry with intensive classroom instruction and mentoring from a world-class faculty of over 50 top-notch TV and movie writers, agents and producers. Among those you will learn from include Hollywood pros like Dean Batali (That 70s Show, Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose), Monica Macer (Lost, Prison Break), Bill Marsilii (Déjà Vu) and David McFadzean (Home Improvement, What Women Want).

“Act One helps the Christian writer overcome the temptation to ignore oroversimplify the arduous task of integrating faith and creativity. It providesnot only a serious investigation into the art and craft of screenwriting, butalso a challenge to think deeply about content.” - Scott Derrickson, writer/director, The Exorcism of Emily Rose

In partnership with Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business & Management, Act One operates a rigorous 12-week training and internship program to prepare Christian entrepreneurs, attorneys, corporate executives and MBA's for executive careers in mainstream entertainment.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Dr. Daniel McInerny, associate director of the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture, and Dr. Michael P. Foley, assistant professor in the Great Texts Program at Baylor University will be moderating a lively afternoon’s discussion on the promises and the perils of telling stories in the entertainment industry.

In particular, we will be exploring questions such as the following—

·What is the special character of modern culture, and how is it reflected in contemporary cinema and television?

·What does Catholic culture, and Christianity generally, contribute to the craft of movie making? Does it merely warn us against gratuitous sex and violence or attacks against the Church, or does it contribute more substantially to the art of telling cinematic stories?

·What sorts of stories can Catholics and other Christians effectively tell in the modern world? Are we restricted to explicitly “religious” topics?

·Why are some of the best Catholic films made by non-Catholics?

·Do Catholics and other Christians working in the entertainment industry have a special vocation? If so, what is it?

A buffet lunch will be served at 12:00p.m. at Family Theater, so please come early to enjoy some time with colleagues in the industry.

Fr. Willy Raymond, C.S.C, National Director of Family Theater Productions, will offer Mass at Family Theater directly following the colloquium, to which everyone is also invited.

Seating at Family Theater is limited, so please respond as soon as possible in order to reserve your place at the colloquium.

You may RSVP and address all questions about the colloquium to Dr. Daniel McInerny, either by email at mcinerny.3@nd.edu, or by phone at 574-631-3788. We look forward to seeing you on the afternoon of March 8 for what promises to be a stimulating discussion!

Do you have a story to tell?Or do you want to get an insider's understanding of the business of The Biz?

Do you have what it takes to make it in Hollywood – as an artist, a professional and as a Christian?

It’s time to find out.

The Act One Seminar: Screenwriting and the Business of Hollywood is coming to Phoenix, Arizona!

Act One, Inc. presents Act One Seminars - intensive, practical workshops for aspiring and professional writers and entrepreneurs who are serious about their Christian faith and who dream of creating culture that respects and enriches a global audience. These two-day seminars offer a fun, fast-paced overview of our renowned Writing and Executive Programs, taught by Hollywood professionals. Topics include -

For everyone:

• Finding Your Story• Film Structure• Pitching• Visual Writing• The Business of Hollywood/Next Steps• Christianity and Culture• Truth in Film• The Hollywood Mission Field

Business Track:• Who Does What in Feature and TV Production?: From Best Boy to Executive Producer• Introduction to the Marketplace & Commercial Creativity• Optioning a Winning Script or Other Source Material

Saturday, February 09, 2008

Variety is reporting today that a deal has been finalized to end the four month old WGA strike.

Leaders of the WGA made the announcement of the finalized deal early Saturday after spending much of Friday meeting with lawyers over the contract language. WGA West president Patric Verrone and WGA East prexy Michael Winship sent a message to members that stressed the gains made in the new-media sector.

“It is an agreement that protects a future in which the Internet becomes the primary means of both content creation and delivery,” they said. “It creates formulas for revenue-based residuals in new media, provides access to deals and financial data to help us evaluate and enforce those formulas, and establishes the principle that, ‘When they get paid, we get paid.’ ”

Verrone and Winship said in the message that the time has come to end the strike and cited the “enormous personal toll on our members and countless others.”

“As such, we believe that continuing to strike now will not bring sufficient gains to outweigh the potential risks and that the time has come to accept this contract and settle the strike,” they said. “Much has been achieved, and while this agreement is neither perfect nor perhaps all that we deserve for the countless hours of hard work and sacrifice, our strike has been a success.”

I think we'd all have to conclude that this strike really was a strategic and moral success for writers. When it started, the subject of compensation for the Internet was one of the non-negotiables. But the solidarity of the writing community really wonthe day. The studios were shocked, I think, when the TV showrunners refused to work as "producers" arguing that everything they do in casting, editing and show-running, basically is just another form of writing. This action added a tremendous amount of pressure on TV nets and studios.

Then there has been the wonderful solidarity of SAG. The actors, certainly eying their own contract negotiation coming up this summer, but also out of a real sense of appreciation for the long-neglected importance of writers to this business, decided to dig in with us in the strike. Shockingly, the actors refused to countenance a Golden Globes celebration, and then threatened to boycott their annual red-carpet actor glut fest, the Academy Awards. There have only been a few actors who broke the strike, notably Ellen Degeneres, who made a really bad call that I think will haunt her professionally for a long time.

But now, we will have the writers getting back to work after having had a nice long period to think and brood over their next projects. I think we are going to see some great work come out of this solitude. Please join me in praying for this.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

In my strange new role as #1 fan in chief of the Sci-Fi Channel's re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, I dutifully took my place today at the NBC studios in Burbank at a special day of striking solidarity for Sci-Fi writers in conjunction with the Writers Guild of America strike. As I have noted before, I really don't know anything about the whole Sci-Fi universe, and so I found myself surrounded by lots of fans for shows with names like Eureka and Stargate Something as well as members of the casts and crew of these and other shows.

I was there solely and completely for Battlestar and had the chance to talk to the Executive Producer, co-Executive Producer and several cast members (although not Katee Sackhoff as she didn't show up....rats.) I had an interesting exchange with the co-exec producer, Jane Espensen about my little ethical issue with the show. (Ref. a post in mid-January. The whole "What is the difference between humans and cylons thing.) Very interesting. Jane agreed with me that Laura Roslin should have gone ahead and stolen the election because she had enough empirical evidence to know that Baltar was very very bad. Imagine a TV show turning me into a situation ethicist! Anyway, it was great to be able to thank them for the show and tell them how much it has entertained me...and given me a lot to think about.

Anyway, I thought it was very much in keeping with the spirit of Ash Wednesday to go picketing for peace and justice in Hollywood.

Here is a shot of the show-runner of Battlestar, Ron Moore with one of the stars, Michael Trucco, who plays Starbuck's husband, Sam Anders.

Here is Ron Moore with actress Kate Vernon, who plays Ellen Tigh, the wild and weird wife of Colonel Tigh.

Here are a group of female sci-fi writers. There are writers here from most of the Sci-Fi Channel shows, and they were all wearing pink hats for some reason. (I guess if I knew more about sci-fi, I'd get it....) Anyway, there in the middle of them is my friend and Act One TV instructor, Sheryl Anderson.

I was staring right at Sheryl when I first got to the strike, but I didn't recognize her because I was staring at her hat. Suddenly, I heard my name, "Barbara Nicolosi!" It took me a minute because I hadn't seen her for a year and it was out of context, (and then there was the pink hat!) but then it was so nice to give her a big hug and spend the next hour or so tromping back and forth catching up. Sheryl currently writes on Flash Gordon, and we are hoping it will be coming back when the strike is resolved.

Here's Trucco and Kate walking the line. As a writer, I am so grateful to the SAG community for their support in this strike. We won't forget!

Here are photos of some other Sci-Fi stars. I know they are stars because the paparazzi were all over them at different points in the day. If anybody knows who they are, please feel free to let me know.

UPDATE FROM THOM PARHAM, CHRISTIAN SCI-FI GURU OF GURUS: "The guy on the right-hand side is Mark Verheiden, a co-executive producer on BSG. I've known Mark since I moved to LA in '95. He's a great guy and helped me arrange interviews with some of his colleagues for a Popular Culture Association conference paper I wrote a few years ago."

UPDATE FROM D.: "The guy in the red shirt and black jacket holding the strike sign is Jamie Paglia, the writer / co-creator / EP of Eureka."UPDATE FROM THOM PARHAM: "The guy being interviewed by Space (the Canadian counterpart of Sci Fi Channel) is Ed Quinn, who plays Nathan Stark on Eureka. Don't know if you've seen it yet; Think Northern Exposure in a town full of geniuses. Give it a try sometime.

Here's the reading from the Book of Joel that is in the Liturgy of the Word for Mass on Ash Wednesday:

Blow the trumpet in Zion! proclaim a fast, call an assembly; Gather the people, notify the congregation; Assemble the elders, gather the children and the infants at the breast; Let the bridegroom quit his room and the bride her chamber. Between the porch and the altar let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep, And say, “Spare, O LORD, your people, and make not your heritage a reproach, with the nations ruling over them! Why should they say among the peoples, ‘Where is their God?’”

Then the LORD was stirred to concern for his land and took pity on his people.

I am a choleric sanguine temperament. And the sanguine part of me just hates Lent. I know I need it. And I know it is a holy time. And I know that the celebration of the Resurrection would be gutted without these forty days of reflection on our sin and the atoning death of Christ. But as a sanguine, the idea of forty seven days of somberness is very hard. And then I am an extrovert, so I get my energy from people. Which means I tend to fall asleep in solitude. So, the very idea of Ash Wednesday fills me with waves of exhaustion. I'm tired already and it has only been Lent for nine hours and fifty seven minutes. "Can't I just go somewhere on the planet where it isn't Lent and sleep for forty seven days?" But my choleric side is all about taking life seriously, so, as much as I dread the dreary season, I embrace it.

I grew up in a family in which my mother used to say, "If you like Lent, you're doing it wrong." We had a whole list of "family penances" that still hover in my consciousness and which I can't evade without guilt even now - no sweets, no alcohol, no having people over for dinner, no anything at all that could be regarded as frivolously enjoyable. There was a sense in our house that anything really fun would be inappropriate during Lent. And then, we had to come up with our own individual penances that had to be approved by the parental units as really nailing whatever it was that God (as mediated by them in persona dei) wanted us to work on.

I'm glad I grew up in such a family. Lent gave a seriousness and purpose to the year. And it made the celebration of all the feasts outside of Lent much more joyous.

And another result of the "Lent is a serious season" in our house was that we all grew up with a special love of St. Joseph. His solemnity, falling on March 19th, invariably interrupted the dismalness of Lent. He was just too great a saint for the family not to step outside of the Lenten misery to have a celebration. I have always loved him for this, he was light and resurrection in many a dark, cold winter of penance.

I always have an intention for someone else for Lent. I find it keeps me much more resolute in keeping my penances, such as they are, and actually gives them a little boost out of their innate patheticness as dumb things that are still annoying sacrifices for me in my spoiled, spiritually lukewarm state. It's a weird dynamic, but if it is just about me, I tend to let myself off the hook easier. But when I know I promised the merits of the sacrifices for someone who is in need, I really seem to be able to summon the energy to talk myself out of talking myself out of not taking it all so seriously. This year, I'm offering Lent for my sister Alison who is expecting her second child in March, and also Dawn Eden, who has some disease that brings together cancer and the thyroid. I don't get the Divine Economy which sends Dawn cancer at this moment in which she has a vital message for our culture. So, I'm doing my part to dissent. Oh, and also sending up sacrifices for the conversion and holiness of Hollywood. You know, that old thing.

As much as I find the tone of Lent temperamentally exhausting, I have grown into welcoming the practice of fasting and almsgiving during the season. Here's what these two aren't: "Here Jesus, here's some more junk."

That is, a fast, is not giving up things creepy and shameful in our lives. We should do that any way. A fast isn't going on a diet or quitting smoking. A real fast is abstaining from something good that is an enjoyable part of human life. And then almsgiving is doing some extra good that builds the Church. As a spiritual director said to me years ago, "The only renunciation that makes any sense, is that which takes the form of a reaching out."

Monday, February 04, 2008

A friend in the CCH (Christian Community of Hollywood) forwarded me a link to an article that recently appeared in Provocations, the Journal from something called the Trinity Forum.

I've heard of the writer, John Seel, before, although I can't recall if we have ever met. Apparently he has done consulting for Walden Media, so we very well may have met. I'm wondering, because his peice sounds like he has been taking notes in the back of about twenty rooms I have been in in the last year. In this article, John is trying to provide a Christian sociology (it's not really theology) that would help Christians with money see their way through to investment in culture. This topic of how Christians should try and secure meaningful cultural influence through investment is a hot one, with lots of folks preening and posturing, but with very little strategic action actually developing. John's piece is very thoughtful and potentially helpful, and hopefully will get a wide exposure.

Here's a snip.

Abandoning the wrong approach

Our past efforts at cultural renewal have not been effective in part because the faith perspective is underrepresented in many of the institutions of cultural leadership. Consider geography. There are four main centers of national cultural influence: Boston, New York, San Jose—representing the Silicon Valley—and Los Angeles. Evangelicals are concentrated instead in places like Wheaton, Colorado Springs, and Orlando. Institutional evangelicalism serves institutional evangelicalism, but rarely the wider culture.

Politics reflects culture; it doesn’t direct it.

Culture is shaped by a small number of gatekeepers. Majority perspectives have little bearing on culture formation. Instead, elites dominate. Neuhaus notes: “Even though [these elites] may be a minority of the population, they succeed in presenting themselves as ‘mainstream’ through their control of powerful institutions in the media, in entertainment, in the arbitrations of literary taste, in the great research universities and professional associations, and in the worlds of business and advertisement that seek the approval of those who control the commanding heights of culture.” Increasingly, grassroots political efforts to reverse the current cultural direction are proving futile. Politics reflects culture; it doesn’t direct it.

Moreover, by focusing on mobilizing majorities and legislative coercion, these faith communities have alienated their opponents while squandering their cultural and biblical capital. They have failed because the convictions that underlie culture cannot be coerced. They can be proposed, never imposed. Culture changes when a society’s assumptions and aspirations are captured by new ideas and images that are developed by thinkers and artists, expounded in both scholarly and popular forms, depicted in innumerable works of art, literature and entertainment, and then lived out attractively by communities of people who are committed to them. By narrowly focusing on Washington and state legislatures, faith communities have forgotten how to assert cultural influence. Today, most Christians in America are known for self-serving power politics rather than humble service for the good of others.

That many faith leaders are now viewing “the culture” as a new strategic goal is laudable, but such recognition also needs a deep theological perspective and appropriate cultural discernment to have any renewing effect.

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